With one day left until The Dark
Knight Rises graces our screens, it's time for my next theme week:
the Nolan directed Batman films. So, naturally, the best place to
start is at the beginning, with... well, Batman Begins, of course.
Now I know that just about everyone and
his dog has talked at length about this movie, but not everybody in
the world is going to have seen it, shared the same opinion or seen
many reviews/viewpoints, so if they should stumble across this one,
it could very well be their first (which is good for them, because
that means the next ones they read will be better). On the subject of
people and firsts, I'll put the spoiler warning here for anyone yet
to see the movie. Not that it is a high number, but you never know.
Much like my post on the latest
Superman film, I'll skip the creation of Batman because this won't be
a short blog.
Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) returns to
Gotham after receiving training overseas in the methods of
crimefighting from Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson), intent on reclaiming
his city from the grips of criminals, in particular Carmine Falcone
(Tom Wilkinson). But in between re-establishing himself in the city,
and with a childhood friend of his, Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes) and
fighting off the new threat of Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy), Bruce
Wayne finds he's in for a bigger challenge than he thought.
To say that after Batman And Robin, any
Batman film would be good in comparison is the least praise you can
sprinkle onto this. To say that it reinvigorated the Batman series,
and film in general, and is the model for doing a reboot right is
also too little to fully appreciate just how fantastic this film is.
When I first heard that Christian Bale
was going to play Batman, I was already in approval because of
American Psycho, and that only heightened when I got the chance to
see The Machinist two weeks before Batman Begins made its debut (by
the way, if you watch those and all the Nolan Batman films together,
that's like one of the greatest movie marathons I can think of. And I
should do that when The Dark Knight Rises comes out on DVD) and he
does not disappoint. What he gets more so than any other portrayer of
Bruce Wayne and Batman (with the possible exception of Michael Keaton
but definitely excepting Kevin Conroy) is that Bruce Wayne and Batman
should have a different voice, as part of the idea that Bruce Wayne
couldn't possibly be Batman. And when he's Batman, hot damn! That
voice often gets complaints for how gruff it is but I love it, it
helps project the image that this Batman is a force of nature. It's
like when Nolan resurrected him, he didn't come back as Batman, he
came back as Bat-Demon! (And considering what some people see him as
when they're hallucinating in this movie, that's a distinct
possibility). As Bruce Wayne, he plays up the “rich idiot with no
day job” angle well, channeling the Patrick Bateman (insert your
own Bateman/Batman joke here) character from American Psycho for the
Bruce Wayne scenes when he's in public. But then there's the
in-between, the Bruce that only Alfred sees, and Rachel to a point,
the one who has a determination that cannot be swayed, but also the
vulnerability of the little boy who will never fully come to terms
with the death of his parents.
Speaking of, much like the recent
Amazing Spider-Man, it takes a lot to make us care about something we
all know is coming, and to keep it from looking like you're going
through the motions. In Begins, the details are changed to be an
opera instead of a film, and the reason for leaving is Bruce's fear
of the bat creatures. So, when Thomas and Martha leave and are killed
by Joe Chill, it adds a little to the scene, by giving Bruce the idea
that it was his fault, even though we as an audience know he is not
to blame. Not to mention tying into one of the central themes, of
fear and how it controls us.
Now, talking about the cast could end
up making this the longest blog I've ever done, so I'm going to try
and praise them in one paragraph each (criminal, I know, I should
really look into vlogging at one point).
Michael Caine as Alfred is just more
proof of how awesome Michael Caine is. He's dry, witty but ever so
fatherly. Hell, I'm actually wondering if he was just playing himself
under an assumed name. And he gets some of the best lines in the
movie, too (“What good are all those push-ups if you can't even
lift a bloody log?”, priceless)
Gary Oldman as James Gordon is a much
better utilization of the character when compared to the
Burton/Schumacher era. Seemingly the only good cop amongst the rats,
he's determined, clever and noble. Also, he gets to drive the
freakin' Batmobile (which is awesome, by the way. I swear it would
eat cars if it was sentient, it's that much of a beast.)
Morgan Freeman portrays Lucius Fox, a
character who hasn't been used in that many adaptations (he was seen
in Batman: The Animated Series but from there, I couldn't tell you)
but he's Morgan Freeman, what can I say? He's dry and hilarious, like
Michael Caine, and serves as useful exposition on Batman's arsenal.
Also, it makes sense he knows that Bruce Wayne and Batman are the
same person, he spends a lot of time with the guy, so he would know
when something's up. And that scene at the end when he shows up
William Earle (Rutger Hauer)? Loved it.
Katie Holmes as Rachael Dawes... I have
to admit, initially I was not fond of her. Maybe that was me being
prejudiced against her due to being the wife of an ego-maniac (whose
claws she finally escaped), or her time on Dawson's Creek, but over
time, I've come to realize she wasn't that bad in her role. She's
still the weakest link, no question, but not something that drags the
movie down (she is, however, responsible for one of my criticisms of
the movie, which I'll get into later).
Liam Neeson, much like Morgan Freeman,
just has to show up and awesomeness pretty much ensues. He's one Hell
of a fighter and when it's revealed that he's really the leader of
the League Of Shadows, Ra's Al Ghul (though that's not much of a
spoiler if you know the comics, you get that vibe from him), the
action just gets better.
And lastly, Cillian Murphy as the
Scarecrow, aka Jonathan Crane. Now, out of all the Batman villains,
Scarecrow is my absolute fave, so naturally I was so eager to see him
on the big screen. And while they took a few liberties, as they often
do (mostly with his looks, making him a handsome young psychiatrist
with mob ties as opposed to a scrawny looking, creepy looking older
male), he is still fun to watch. He may not be much of a fighter but
he knows his way around a confrontation and lets nothing intimidate
him (until dosed with his own fear gas, but hey, these things happen
on the job). And as much as I love his comic costume, or that really
cool hangman motif he had for the animated series, the simple sack
look works too, and doesn't distract from his badassness.
Now, while I have mostly minor
criticisms (Ra's Al Ghul not being pronounced correctly, Zsasz
getting little screen time and looking like he belongs in a System Of
A Down cover band), the one semi-major one I have is the scene in
which Scarecrow's riding on a horse, terrifying Rachel (this isn't
the bad part), Rachel zaps him with a taser and he goes down for the
count, with the horse riding off and that's the last we see of him
(that's the bad part).
I get that he's not THE major villain,
but come on, you're trying to undo everything he did with a pathetic
manoeuvre like that! Yes, he's in the sequel, but that's not the
point! He looked like a chump, and the master of fear deserved a
better send off!
On to the action scenes, some have
complained that it's hard to figure out what's going on, that it's
too confusing. That makes sense to me, since part of what Batman is
trying to accomplish is to create confusion and fear with his
fighting style. By being constantly on the move, ever adaptable, he
ensures that he will have the upper hand.
Really, there's a lot I could say, like
how well it handles the theme of fear, or Tom Wilkinson's marvelous
turn as Falcone, or discuss the most awesome scene in the movie
(three words: “SWEAR TO ME!”), but we could be here all day.
Chances are, you've seen it by now, and you know how awesome it is
(and if you didn't like it, fair enough, you're under no obligation
to like what I like). Outstanding work, and clearly a 4.5/5
Up next... gee, I wonder?
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